Random Selespeed beeping

[leongsoon 8]

Hi guys! My 156's Selespeed warning light will come on and start beeping for a few seconds every now and then, has this happened to any of you?

 

My previous accumulator wouldn't hold pressure anymore so I had it swapped with one off my old actuator beginning of this year. Since then it has been working fine and never skipped a beat, with every gear change a successful one, haven't had to top up ATF since then too! However, the Selespeed light and beeping seems to come up at random times for no reason at all. While it is beeping, I can still go in and out of neutral and change gears with no problem at all. I also noticed that the beeping seems to disappear as soon as I step on the throttle.

 

While it hasn't affected my car noticeably yet, I am puzzled by this behaviour. Sometimes it will beep 3-4 times in a day, or it'll just stay silent 3-4 days at a time. Any ideas?

[Smaky 73]

There are 3 things which would jump straight to my mind with this one.

 

1, Loose pump relay/dirty contacts - Take out the large black relays in front of the battery and clean the contacts, check the wiring to it and possibly replace it.

 

2, The pump motor brushes are wearing out and it is beginning to hang occasionally - Replace pump.

 

3, Throttle pedal plug/Throttle body plug, disconnect and reconnedt them both, you'll also need to reset any fault codes in the ENGINE AND SELESPEED ECUs.

 

There are other causes for this but without the fault code It's purely guesswork.

[leongsoon 8]

Thanks for the advice Smaky!

 

1. Cleaned the relay and contacts about 2 months back, but worth trying again due to the wet climate here.

 

2. This I suspect too. Is it necessary to replace the whole pump or can I just follow your guide and replace the brushes? I read it's 8 x 6 x 25mm but is there a part number for it?

 

3. I just realised that prodding the throttle doesn't make the beeping go away, it's moving the car that does. I'll try to locate and check the plugs too, but then I gotta send my car to the workshop to reset the codes.

 

Thanks again

[Smaky 73]

Thanks for the advice Smaky!

 

1. Cleaned the relay and contacts about 2 months back, but worth trying again due to the wet climate here.

 

2. This I suspect too. Is it necessary to replace the whole pump or can I just follow your guide and replace the brushes? I read it's 8 x 6 x 25mm but is there a part number for it?

 

3. I just realised that prodding the throttle doesn't make the beeping go away, it's moving the car that does. I'll try to locate and check the plugs too, but then I gotta send my car to the workshop to reset the codes.

 

Thanks again

 

I suspect then it is most likely #2, in which case changing the brushes is cheapest and affraid there is no part #.

[leongsoon 8]

I've gotten a set of 8x6x20mm brushes. Selespeed hasn't beeped in last 3 days. When I got the pump out I was surprised to see a Magneti Marelli instead of a Denso. I'm not quite sure but I think the brushes are smaller, and 25mm might have been too long.

 

The brushes are still about 10mm long on each side but there was an awful lot of carbon dust which I cleared. Should I still go ahead and replace the brushes?

[Smaky 73]

I've gotten a set of 8x6x20mm brushes. Selespeed hasn't beeped in last 3 days. When I got the pump out I was surprised to see a Magneti Marelli instead of a Denso. I'm not quite sure but I think the brushes are smaller, and 25mm might have been too long.

 

The brushes are still about 10mm long on each side but there was an awful lot of carbon dust which I cleared. Should I still go ahead and replace the brushes?

 

You have the other type of motor then, in both cases the brushes need trimming down and where you are now it's worth going the whole hog so that the motor canbe ruled out.

[leongsoon 8]

You're right, wouldn't enjoy having to take it apart again later!

 

The Magneti Marelli brushes are 7.5x8 instead of 6x8 I guess, so just got a pair of 8x8x16 just now. Also noticed dirty ATF3 in the enclosed area where the armature couples with the pump shaft, no oil has gotten into motor yet, so I bought a new oil seal and o-ring for that end of the pump too, other than that all the oil and internals are crisp and clean. Already cleaned all the nooks and crannies in the motor so they should be problem free for long after this

 

By the way, is there any need to leave any oil in where the pump and motor couple, or will assembling them back dry be fine?

[Smaky 73]

You're right, wouldn't enjoy having to take it apart again later!

 

The Magneti Marelli brushes are 7.5x8 instead of 6x8 I guess, so just got a pair of 8x8x16 just now. Also noticed dirty ATF3 in the enclosed area where the armature couples with the pump shaft, no oil has gotten into motor yet, so I bought a new oil seal and o-ring for that end of the pump too, other than that all the oil and internals are crisp and clean. Already cleaned all the nooks and crannies in the motor so they should be problem free for long after this

 

By the way, is there any need to leave any oil in where the pump and motor couple, or will assembling them back dry be fine?

 

 

Assembling dry will be fine, as it will be lubricated by gravity when you fill the system up.

[leongsoon 8]

I've got good news and bad news!!

 

The good news; pump is not leaking and motor is going strong! The assembly only runs for about 6 seconds to prime fully now! New seals and brushes does wonders! For the first few days the motor only primes when I turn the key to MAR, but it started running again whenever I open the driver's door starting this morning, no idea why, probably no big deal either

 

The bad news? The beeping still comes around, so the pump and motor are not the culprit. Gonna check the relays and connections again. Is it possible that the accumulator is on it's way out again? The actuator and accumulator are pretty clean and dry last I checked.

[leongsoon 8]

Another question Smaky! Sorry for the bother!

 

About 2 months back the gearbox seems to be slow to change from 2nd to 3rd at times, then it worked fine the rest of the time, but for the whole of this morning it takes almost a full second to get from 2nd to 3rd. All the other up and down changes work fine. Will opening the gearbox end and cleaning the swarf cure this?

[Smaky 73]

Another question Smaky! Sorry for the bother!

 

About 2 months back the gearbox seems to be slow to change from 2nd to 3rd at times, then it worked fine the rest of the time, but for the whole of this morning it takes almost a full second to get from 2nd to 3rd. All the other up and down changes work fine. Will opening the gearbox end and cleaning the swarf cure this?

 

 

In a word, no. This problem is a little more than just the end plate swarf problem which only affects 4th gear selection normally. This I fear my be down to wear of the clutch and wear to internal components of the gearbox itself. Quite possibly wear to the casing around the mainshaft front bearing.

[leongsoon 8]

After a few days' use I noticed that the skipping of 3rd gear happens only when I shift at low revs; if I do it at 5k RPM and above it upshifts to 3rd fine and fast. Still no problem getting to 3rd from 4th. I was wondering if it could be a faulty sensor somewhere? Gearbox oil change is not due yet, but there's also an occasional black drip from where the gearbox meets the engine every few days, so will changing the oil to a fully synthetic one be of any help?

[Smaky 73]

Black oil would normally be Engine related and usually either the rocker cover gasket or occasionally a balance shaft seal (gearbox off to change those, crank and sup seals are also possibilities, if the front bearing has gone then I'd expect a straw coloured fluid though if it's collected dirt on the way out it may turn black so it could well be gearbox oil.

 

skippinng 3rd below 5k rpm is probably damage to the 3rd gear synchro, caused by low fluid, above 5k rpm gear changes are aided by the system porting more pressure to aid selection, first thing to do though as I said was to remove and examing the brass sensor with the red socket on the front of the gearbox (Clutch speed sensor), 22mm DD socket and it's out, check the end it flat and undamaged then refit it, any damage and it's new gearbox time.

[leongsoon 8]

I've been getting home late and haven't gotten around to swapping the brass sensor yet. Today, during a slow drive in town it started to miss 2nd and went straight to 3rd instead. Downshifting from 3rd brings me back to 3rd, R still working but 4th misses sometimes too.

 

Went home, checked the fluid level, cleaned the 20pin connector and fuses again. Selespeed pump primes every 4mins 20secs when I left the key at MAR. Now it wouldn't get into 1st unless I downshift from 2nd while running. With the engine off, it will sometimes miss 1st and 3rd. Is this all caused by the synchro ring too?

 

I'll be out of town again tomorrow for work, hope I can get back early and check the brass sensor

[Smaky 73]

I've been getting home late and haven't gotten around to swapping the brass sensor yet. Today, during a slow drive in town it started to miss 2nd and went straight to 3rd instead. Downshifting from 3rd brings me back to 3rd, R still working but 4th misses sometimes too.

 

Went home, checked the fluid level, cleaned the 20pin connector and fuses again. Selespeed pump primes every 4mins 20secs when I left the key at MAR. Now it wouldn't get into 1st unless I downshift from 2nd while running. With the engine off, it will sometimes miss 1st and 3rd. Is this all caused by the synchro ring too?

 

I'll be out of town again tomorrow for work, hope I can get back early and check the brass sensor

 

Yes.

[leongsoon 8]

Just an update on the issue Smaky! Left my car at the Alfa Romeo workshop for a day, they just changed a gear selector sensor at the actuator and recalibrated it a bit for 50 pounds. Car has been working fine since, all gears engage with no drama, even 2nd to 3rd works nicely at low revs now! Phew! I hope the faulty selector sensor was what's causing the random beeping too, so with the sensor replaced I can say goodbye to the beeping.

 

Thanks a lot Smaky!